


From The Top

by Violent_Bulldog



Category: Glee
Genre: Blood and Injury, Cheerleaders, Everyone is done with Rachel Berry's shit, F/F, Gen, Injury, Injury Recovery, Kurt Hummel is done with Rachel Berry's shit, Minor Rachel Berry/Finn Hudson, Noah Puckerman is done with Rachel Berry's shit, Nobody likes Rachel Berry, Not Rachel Berry Friendly, Other, Permanent Injury, Protective Brittany S. Pierce, Protective Sue Sylvester, Protective Will Schuester, SOFT GAYS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-09-02 06:53:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20271757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violent_Bulldog/pseuds/Violent_Bulldog
Summary: Maybe putting all the Freshmen Cheerios at the bottom of the pyramid was a bad idea





	From The Top

Sue had three favourites and they were always on top of the pyramid. And since she hated any and all Freshmen, they were put to the bottom. It was a simple routine that played out every year without fail.

They were practising for Nationals again, outside and without mats because they should all be able to hold the shape by now and if not then they shouldn't be here. Since Quinn had disappeared half-way through the day a few weeks ago and miss practice, Sue decided to replace her spot on top of the pyramid with Santana. Santana had always been the second-best behind Quinn, so it only made sense to use her. The pyramid was the finishing pose which stacked all the Cheerios into it. The Freshmen, then Sophomores, then Juniors and finally, on top, the Seniors. Sue made sure to keep it even so that there were ten Cheerios in the pyramid, the ten that she would take to Nationals as they were the best of the group. It went in year groups but since there was only one Junior on the team that was even close to being good, Sue had Brittany take the place. 

The group struck the pose but before Sue could insult how sloppy it was, one of the Freshmen slipped, causing the whole pyramid to collapse. Fortunately for some, the pyramid was close to the ground so the Sophomores and Junior positions would be fine, mostly. There was a loud thump and a pained yelp as someone hit the floor. Sue didn't look up from her clipboard where she was scribbling notes about how to get the Freshmen kicked out of school.

"Coach, it's Santana" Becky announced from her side which caused Sue to look up at the team. Sure enough, Santana was laying in a heap on the grass with Brittany kneeling next to her. The most worrying part was that her leg was bent in an unhealthy fashion.

"Becky, call for an ambulance. I don't think ice will help this" Sue muttered before approaching the team. They were crowded around Santana, even though Brittany was hissing at them to get away. Brittany was a sweet, innocent girl unless someone she cared for got hurt or something important to her was ruined. Sue ordered the rest of the Cheerios to get away and they immediately did. That was when Sue saw the extent of Santana's injuries. There was a cut on the side of her head from where she had made contact with the hard soil and her right leg was definitely broken. There was no doubt that there would be severe bruising on her back and that she had a concussion as well. Sue could see the tears that filled the injured girl's eyes but she didn't shed them and Sue could see the tears that were spilling down Brittany's face.

"Becky's called an ambulance for you, Santana. You're going to be okay, I'll pay for the hospital bills and everything else so you don't need to worry. I'll have to stay here and inform Figgins on what happened but Brittany will go with you, I'm sure" Sue said, her voice painfully soft. Santana just nodded slightly and Sue realised that she must be winded from falling on her back. Brittany had her hand locked securely with Santana's, almost as if both of their lives depended on it and maybe in their minds, it did. Santana drew raged breathes that clearly caused her pain as they waited for the ambulance. Sue had asked Becky to get both girl's bags from the locker room, so their bags lay beside them. Brittany had quickly texted the Glee group chat, which Rachel insisted on them making, to inform them on what happened and that they obviously wouldn't be attending the club later on today.

The ambulance arrived and took the two away just as Will appeared. Sue rolled her eyes at the man as he approached her.

"Sue, the kids told me about the text from Brittany. What happened?" He asked, and as much as Sue hated to admit it, he clearly cared for everyone in his stupid singing club.

"A Freshman dropped the pyramid. And because she's the star of this group, Santana was at the top. God, Will. Her leg was just so... bent in the wrong way, I don't know how bad it is but it didn't look good. She was in tears Will, tears. And Santana never cries. Well, not from pain at least" Sue rambled before sighing. She flinched when she felt Will's hand on her shoulder but didn't pull away from him. She didn't like him but he was perhaps one of her only friends at this godforsaken school. Perhaps one of her only friends at all.

"How about you go talk to Figgins and I'll deal with the Freshman?" He offered, causing Sue to scoff.

"You'll give her a slap on the wrist-"

"Santana might be your star but that doesn't mean that she's not one of mine too. Believe me, I could throw this Freshman from the roof... I won't, but I could" He cut her off and there was a seriousness in his expression that made Sue genuinely believe him. She nodded before walking towards the main building. She saw Will heading to the gym and thanked him silently.

Brittany hadn't left Santana's side since she fell, only being pried away when they had to X-Ray Santana's leg to see the extent of the damage but even then, she was right outside the room. Apparently, Santana had broken her knee and the bottom of her femur bone which meant that she would be on crutches for at least three months. That meant that she was out of cheerleading for the rest of this season, and the rest of the school year. Their final school year. And she was meant to have a scholarship in cheerleading at a University in Louisville but that might be completely ruined now all because a stupid Freshman couldn't stand straight. A fifteen-year-old couldn't stand up. Brittany was pissed because now, her girlfriend might not be able to have the career that she wanted. She had everything lined up perfectly and now it was all ruined. 

Brittany texted the Glee group about Santana's condition and she nearly threw her phone when Rachel asked: "Does that mean that she can't dance at Sectionals?" because, of course, she couldn't fucking dance, her bones were broken. And, of course, it was Rachel who asked that because she obviously wasn't concerned about Santana's condition, only about herself and how it would impact her stupid dreams of working on Broadway and living in New York. Brittany sent an angry response back to her, something that cursed more than the group had ever heard Brittany even say, before shutting her phone off.

The doctor's had cleaned the cut on the side of Santana's head, which fortunately wasn't deep enough to need stitches, and had plastered her leg. She had to stay overnight because she definitely had a concussion and she had practically begged Brittany to stay, not that she needed convincing in the slightest, before she fell asleep. The doctor told Brittany that she would probably sleep until the following day because of the concussion and that she shouldn't be worried. Brittany had turned her phone back on to texted her parents, telling them where she was and what had happened before shutting it off again.

When Santana woke up, it was the next day, just as the doctor said. Her head hurt less than it did the previous day but she was pretty sure that was because she had painkillers being pumped into her body. She looked to her left, where Brittany was slouched in a chair, asleep and holding her hand. Santana squeezed the blonde's hand gently, checking that she was really there and that it wasn't part of her imagination. She felt a warm feeling in her chest at the fact that Brittany stayed with her all night, even though she had asked her to. It made her realised that Brittany would be there for her, no matter what. Brittany was her soulmate, she knew since kindergarten when they met for the first time and Brittany had asked for the cherry flavoured crayon.

Learning how to walk with crutches was harder than Santana expected. She was told to take 'laps' around the hospital with Brittany by her side, just in case something were to happen. She was used to using the weird muscles in her body from cheerleading but this was different. By the time they got back to her room, her hands were burning from the crappy plastic of the crutches handles. The doctor did a final check-over of her before she was released. They waited on a bench outside the building for Brittany's mom to pick them up after agreeing that Santana would stay at Brittany's house for a while, just until she was able to walk around better. 

"They called your parents but your mom couldn't leave the trip that she was on and your father didn't answer the calls" Brittany said softly, as Santana rested her head on the blonde's shoulder. She just sighed as Brittany pulled her closer, wrapping an arm around her waist. Her mother was always extremely busy with her job and was often on business trips and her father just really didn't care about either of them. He was rarely even at their house, spending his time at a bar or at his 'work friends' house which was obviously just someone he was sleeping with. Her mother may be busy but at least she cared for her only daughter. 

Whitney Pierce was probably the nicest person that Santana knew. The entire Pierce's family was. Whitney made sure that Santana had everything that she could possibly need, from bottles of water to magazines about the most obscure things that she had ever seen. She was silently grateful that the Pierce's didn't have a spare bedroom because that meant that she could stay in Brittany's room and she always slept better with Brittany by her side. Laying on her back hurt but she didn't have any other options so she tried her best to ignore the constant dull ache.

It was late at night, much later than she should be awake at. Things had finally begun to settle in which meant that she now realised that her future was practically ruined. She couldn't go to University on a cheerleading scholarship if she couldn't cheerlead, she was now off the Cheerios and possibly the New Directions too. It was too late to start writing applications to other University's and even then, she wasn't sure what she would do. Her whole high school career pretty much evolved around cheerleading which meant that she didn't have any other qualifications apart from some grades that were barely passes. She had nothing.

She hadn't realised the tears spilling down the sides of her face or her hyper-breathing until she felt Brittany's hand on her forearm. She saw the concerned look on her girlfriend's face, causing her to force herself to calm down. Brittany hummed softly which helped greatly as Santana's breathing slowly evened out.

Santana smiled weakly at Brittany, who was sitting up against the headboard. Brittany gave her a small smile back.

"What happened?" She whispered, being cautious because it was the early hours of the morning and she didn't want to wake her family up. She had her hand locked with Santana's, gently rubbing her thumb across it. Santana had moved so that her head was resting on Brittany's thigh because she just wanted to feel closer to her.

"I have no future. I can't go to University and I don't have any qualifications to get a decent job. I'll be stuck working in Breadstix for the rest of my life, if i'm even qualified for that" She whispered back. Brittany started to play with her hair, causing Santana to feel sleepy. She closed her eyes and cuddled herself into Brittany even more.

"No matter what happens, I'll be there for you. Right by your side, no matter what. I promise" Santana heard her say before she fell asleep.

When the duo went back to school the following week, Brittany refused to leave Santana alone while she rested, they were met with shocked stares. One of the most popular people in school was in crutches and they weren't sure how to react. Both girls were grateful that they shared every class together because that meant that Brittany didn't have to worry about Santana and Santana didn't feel self-conscious about her injury. They didn't spend the lesson's chatting like they normally would, instead, they focused and did the work. Both of them realised that if Santana couldn't get to use her scholarship, she could at least try and end her school career with high grades. Maybe it could work in her favour, somehow. Hopefully, it would.

They were the first to arrive in the choir room since they got out of each class a few minutes earlier. Santana slumped in her chair as Brittany helped sit her leg up on another chair.

"Does it hurt?" Brittany asked, her voice full of sweetness and care. It made Santana smile as she shook her head. Brittany lingered by the chair, looking thoughtfully at the red plastering. 

"Can I sign it?" She gave Santana such hopeful eyes that not even Sue could resist. Brittany grinned when Santana nodded before taking out a blue Sharpie and kneeling beside the chair. She wrote her name, adding a flower and little hearts around it. Santana mirrored her grin when she saw it. She took Brittany's hand, guiding her into the chair beside her and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.

"Adorable, Britt-Britt. Just like you" She whispered, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder. Brittany rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a smile at the compliment. The rest of the Glee club slowly filtered into the room, most of them surrounding the duo. Quinn had a sheepish smile, almost like she thought that if she hadn't missed the practice then maybe Santana wouldn't have gotten hurt as she wouldn't have been on top of the pyramid. She also asked to sign the cast, which Santana allowed. The rest of the club that was there signed too, with Santana's permission. She was hesitant about Finn but allowed him to sign in the end. Just as he put the cap back on his pen, Rachel sauntered into the room, sending everyone disapproving looks. She was probably just jealous that Santana was getting all their attention. 

"Hey Rach, wanna sign it? I-If Santana wants you too, that is" Finn asked as he took his seat beside the dwarf he called a girlfriend. She scoffed at him.

"No thank you" She grumbled.

"Who pissed in your cereal?" Puck asked from her other side. She made a noise of disgust at him before standing from her seat and walking to the front of the room.

"Nobody, Noah. I don't see why I should feel bad for someone like her when all she's done is make my life hell" Rachel announced loudly. More than half of the room rolled their eyes, including some of the band members.

"Rach, Santana's one of the people who actually didn't. You can't tell me that you take her comment's seriously?" Finn asked. Rachel gasped at him, overdramatically, as usual.

"Rachel, you're the one who takes everything out of proportion. Now really isn't the time to be your usual self-centred self" Kurt added. Rachel's eyes brimmed with fake tears at his words.

"I see how it is! You all like her more than me, don't you?" She accused. Nobody said anything to oppose her statement, not even Finn. She gasped, again, before storming out of the room, right as Mr Shue entered. He rolled his eyes at her dramatic exit before giving Santana a sympathetic smile. She gave him a small smile in return.

It had been two months before the doctor wanted to see her. He explained over the phone that it was important. Whitney had dropped the couple off at the hospital, telling them that she'd pick them up once she was done running some errands. They waited in the waiting room for a short while until Santana was called into the doctor's room. He asked about her progress and how she felt. She was able to get up and down stairs carefully now and she felt like everything was going well. The doctor sighed at the last part. He explained that the type of injury that she had was permanent. Which meant no cheerleading scholarship, ever. The doctor said that with extensive physical therapy, she may be able to regain most use of her leg but that she wouldn't be able to do sports again. She wouldn't be able to dance again.

They waited outside for Whitney, Santana curled up against Brittany. Brittany was trying her best to soothe her girlfriend but was unsure how to after receiving news like that. Both of Santana's dreams had just been crushed. She couldn't be on Broadway if she couldn't dance and she couldn't do cheerleading ever again. Santana wasn't even crying, she just looked hurt. She knew that her plans were gone. She had her eyes closed, just breathing in Brittany's scent. Vanilla and honey. It reminded Santana of home, maybe because her home was with Brittany.

"I love you, Britt" Santana mumbled into the blonde's neck. Brittany held her closer, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too, Tana"

The Glee club made it to Nationals for the second year. The only difference was that this year, they won. They won. They beat everyone else and won the title. Santana had been given a wheelchair over their practice so she could still participate in the dancing, like Artie. He had helped her like he had helped Quinn when she got into a car crash. They were all excited but Santana couldn't help but worry since graduation was only a week away and she still had no plans.

Miraculously, both Brittany and herself were still able to graduate despite them never turning up to class. They stood side by side on the stage, listening to Rachel and Finn ramble about how lucky they were to have been able to meet and how they planned their whole future already. Santana rolled her eyes as she leaned against Brittany, using her for support. Santana had been using her crutches less to try and get more movement in her leg and Brittany had been by her side, almost like a human crutch, just in case Santana couldn't support herself. 

By the time Rachel had finally stopped talking, it was late on in the night. Most people had gone their separate ways, promising everyone else that they'd stay in touch or see each other over the summer. Soon it was only Santana and Brittany left. 

"Britt?" Santana whispered, her head resting on the blonde's shoulder as they sat at the edge of the stage. Brittany hummed as an indication for Santana to continue.

"I don't want to be the reason you don't go to college or university. You're a genius, you should tell the world that. We need to..." Santana trailed off, ignoring the tears that burned her eyes. She loved Brittany and this was the last thing that she wanted but she knew, deep down, that this was what was best for Brittany.

"No" Brittany's voice was clear. Her tone told Santana 'Stop with this bullshit or else' quite clearly. Santana moved away from Brittany's shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"We're not doing this. I don't want to do any of that, all I want is to be with you. You are my future, Santana. Nothing else, just you" Brittany told her. Santana shook her head slowly.

"Britt-"

"Santana. No. I'm not leaving you. I'm not letting you break up with me. No. I love you" Brittany cut her off. Santana pulled her into a tight embrace, letting her tears seep into Brittany's graduation robes.

"I love you too, Britt. I always will"

**Author's Note:**

> Maybe this took me a month to write...  
I'm not completely happy with this ending but, yeehaw


End file.
